Movies | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: Up In The Air

Posted on February 12, 2010 by Darren

Sometimes a movie lands (pardon the pun) at the right time. If you had told me that a movie about a guy looking to earn 10,000,000 frequent flyer miles in first class would be arguably one of the most interesting explorations of the recession that Hollywood would offer, I would have laughed in your face. But, against all odds, it works. That the guy in question is George Clooney and the man behind the camera is Jason Reitman undoubtedly helps.

It isn't plane-sailing for Ryan...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: best picture, downsizing, films, george clooney, ivan reitman, Movies, non-review review, recession, review, up in the air | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Ruins

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Darren

The Ruins is a decent enough little horror movie. In fact, it’s a cut above the average mould. Eschewing the torture porn or the gratuitous slasher movies, The Ruins is – after a fashion – a creature feature in the style of eighties. It can’t hold a candle to the true classics of the genre, like The Thing, but it offers a perfectly decent substitute. What’s more is the way that – like all good horror films – it is able to generate pure menace from what should be a ridiculous premise.

Worst. Vacation. Ever.

Note: Towards the end of this review, I’ll discuss some items which might be considered spoilers. Nothing as glaring as the ending, but some stuff you might not want to know ahead of time. I’ll flag it a paragraph beforehand, so don’t worry. If you want a recommendation, it’s an old-fashioned horror which works like any truly effective monster movie: the threat is not just outside the group, but also within it. It won’t rock your world and it isn’t a masterpiece, but is worth a go.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: creature feature, film, genre, horror, Movie, non-review review, review, the happening, the ruins, the thing | Leave a comment »

Batman 3 and Superman Reboot Confirmed…

Posted on February 11, 2010 by Darren

Wow. It looks like getting Nolan to sign on for Batman 3 wasn’t the hard part. It was getting him to sign on to be the brains behind the new Superman reboot. Yes, there’s a new Superman reboot coming. Guess DC is finally doing something with the Man of Steel. Looks like it’s no longer just fanboy hopes riding on Christopher Nolan – it’s the future of DC comics on film.

Forget Clark Kent, Christopher Nolan is the real Superman...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: batman, Batman 3, batman begins, dc, dc comics, news, superman, superman 3.0, superman returns, The Dark Knight, the dark knight sequel, Warner Brothers | Leave a comment »

Saw Franchise Dies a Painful Death…

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Darren

What makes this particular painful about this story is that they’ve caused all the fuss over director Kevin Greutert over what is essentially a lame duck film. You could make the case that the writing’s been on the wall for the Saw franchise since the second movie which began a steep decline into ridiculous torture porn (so I enjoyed the first one, so sue me) or even since the last one which underperformed financially. Which is tough to do on a film that has a budget of your average 1970s Doctor Who serial, to be frank. Anyway, despite the seemingly large investment that making Saw VII in 3D would seem to represent (even crappy 3D ain’t cheap), it looks like Lionsgate are calling it a day. Saw VII will be the last of the franchise.

Brace (geddit?) yourself...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: antichrist, endgame, film, gorn, kevin greutert, Movies, paranormal activity, paranormal activity 2, saw, saw vii, torture porn | 7 Comments »

Is The World Ready for a Black Captain America?

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Darren

Apparently the casting of Captain America: The First Avenger is around the corner. We’ve had confirmation of several story details (I’ll probably come back to those later in the week) and confirmation of the fact that The Red Skull will be the baddie. Which shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, since he is the arch-foe in a rogues gallery which isn’t exactly brimming with iconic villains. I’ve been following discussions about the casting on-line for sometime now, and something has really surprised me when Will Smith’s name came up in connection with the role: apparently the internet nerds are not ready for a black Captain America.

Of course it has been done...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: captain america, captain america: the first avenger, casting, comic books, ethnicity, fandom, marvel, Movies, race, racism, steve rogers, will smith | 2 Comments »

Reaction to the Best Picture Oscar Nominations…

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Darren

Well, it’s been a week since the nominations were announced. I think I’m as adjusted as I’ll ever be to this year’s crop of Oscar contenders. Am I happy? Relatively. Am I delighted? No. Am I as filled with disappointment and rage as I was last year? Not nearly. Does this mean we can judge the ten horse race a success? I’m not so sure. Let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the worse of this year’s nominations, snubs and just inexplicable nods. I’ll be taking a look at the acting nominations later in the week, because this post just ballooned. Rather fitting given the expansion of the category, no?

Let the speculating and analysis and moaning begin...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: (500) Days of Summer, 82nd academy awards, academy, AMPAS, avatar, best director, best picture, best picture oscar, district 9, favourites, films, inglourious basterds, james cameron, kathryn bigalow, Movies, odds, Oscars, precious, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, slumdog millionaire, the blind side, the blindside, the hurt locker, the reader, up, up in the air, voting | 2 Comments »

Green Lantern Concept Art: Purple John Travolta Bikers From Oa!

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Darren

You have to feel more than a bit sad for DC Comics – at least when it comes to their film adaptations. Their one on-going franchise at this particular moment is in limbo as we await news on the sequel to The Dark Knight. Superman has been sent back into temporary retirement after Superman Returns. Aside from the long-planned Green Lantern, the only other original DC movie we’ve heard about are rumblings concerning sequels and prequels to Watchmen – ironically perhaps the one project we don’t want. On the other hand, Marvel just rebooted their most successful franchise, have a sequel to a breakout hit coming out soon, have announced principle photography with Kenneth Branagh on another and will soon be announcing the cast of yet another – all building to a climax in 2012. And, against this, DC have… Green Lantern. Okay, admittedly I’m really excited about it, because the character has been on the rise of late and I’m glad to have a DC film that doesn’t feature Batman or Superman, but something struck me about the recently released concept art: doesn’t Sinestro look more than a little bit like John Travolta in Battlefield: Earth?

Somebody shares an intergalactic stylist...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: battlefield: earth, concept art, films, geoff johns, green lantern, green lantern movie, martin campbell, Movies, sinestro | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Man With Two Brains

Posted on February 4, 2010 by Darren

Remember when Steve Martin was funny? I know, it was a long time ago, but think really hard. Remember when he was churning out consistently entertaining and amusing comedies which skirted the line of brilliance? Before he became the straight man to Alec Baldwin in It’s Complicated? The Man With Two Brains is a such a comedy. I’m not sure it’s consistent enough to justify the description ‘classic’, but ‘vintage’ fits it best. A vintage Steve Martin comedy.

And brains to spare...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: comedy, film, hammer horror, kathleen turner, Movie, non-review review, review, steve martin, The Man With Two Brains | 3 Comments »

Calvin v. Hobbes – An Alternative Interpretation of Fight Club…

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Darren

I am a sucker for a crazy movie conspiracy theory. Be it the possible identities of Keyser Soze or the fact that The Shining is about Native Americans or even whether Anton Chigurh (the unstoppable killing machine from No Country for Old Men) is actually an angel. I stumbled across a somewhat similar one a little while ago which has been out there a while (and I imagine most of you are familiar with). But, for those who aren’t, I thought I’d pass on my own favourite crazy movie theory of the moment: Fight Club is a sequel to the iconic comic strip Calvin & Hobbes. Edward Norton’s narrator is Calvin and Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden is Hobbes. It actually makes sense.

"I am Jack's abandoned childhood friend..."

Note: In case that opening paragraph hasn’t given the game away, there are spoilers in here for the rather excellent Fight Club. I’m assuming anyone reading a detailed article on the movie has seen it (you’ve had ten years!), but – if not – consider yourselves warned that here there be spoilers.
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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: brad pitt, calvin, calvin and hobbes, crazy film theory, edward norton, fight club, film, hobbes, metaphor, Movies, theory, tyler durden | 8 Comments »

Are the Razzies Out of Touch?

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Darren

People are probably still analysing and analysing the Oscar nominees announced yesterday. I’m still formulating my opinion on the bunch – generally it’s a safe selection, but a reasonable safe selection – I thought I’d take a look at the other great annual awards ceremony. No, not the Olympics. No, not the Golden Globes. No, not even the Winter Olympics. The Golden Raspberry Awards – or Razzies, as they are affectionately known – are announced at this time of year, typically stealing a tiny percentage of the Oscars’ thunder. This year they announced the day before and gave us an eclectic line-up. For those unfamiliar with the Razzies, the idea is celebrate the worst that exists in film. However, part of me wonders if the Razzies have escaped the scrutiny that has long been a part of analysing their bigger brother: are the Razzies out of touch with the common movie-goer?